PRESS RELEASE : Grassroots football funding [December 2022]

The press release issued by the Conservative Party on 13 December 2022.

Well done England on reaching the Quarter-Finals of the World Cup. We’re delighted by and proud of what you have achieved and we’re sad it wasn’t to be this year.

The Conservatives are making major investments in football infrastructure to support our communities now and help the next generation of footie stars flourish, just as you have done.

Funding has been granted for many different projects, including:

Traditional grass pitches. The improvement of grass pitches is a key focus area for the Football Association (FA) in order to improve the consistency of matches across the season and to allow the players a better surface on which to play the game and develop their skills.

3G pitches: Third Generation synthetic surface. 3G pitches are suitable for playing various sports including football, rugby, Gaelic games and lacrosse, so they are very versatile community assets. Being synthetic, 3G pitches can be used all year round and can help reduce demand, and therefore wear and tear, on grass pitches.

Floodlighting. So sport can be played whatever the time of day or season.

Indoors football and Multi-Use-Games-Areas (MUGAs). So that poor weather doesn’t prevent playing opportunities and players have a decent pitch to train on.

Changing rooms. So players have good facilities. Many projects supported focus on provision for female and disabled sportspeople.

Other small capital projects. So players are supported as necessary. Projects supported include pavilion upgrades, pitch maintenance equipment, new goal posts, and security measures like fencing. Where possible, sites in highly deprived areas have been backed.

Funding has been provided across our great United Kingdom:

England

The total Football Foundation Grant awarded was over £51 million; the Grant includes contributions from The Department for Culture, Media and Sports, Sport England, the Premier League and the English Football Association. Projects supported:

52 3G pitches. For example:

£6 million was granted in Barking to support a new site with 3 full size 3G pitches, a gym, and a large social area including a café, in an accessible design – helping address social challenges in a deprived area.

£100k invested in Liverpool (Fazakerley) for 3G pitches – helping boost activity in lower socio-economic communities and to get women and girls to engage with football.

15 grass pitches, a typical project is:

£25k for Accrington Stanley Football In The Community in Hyndburn to make the pitch available for more hours of play and ensure that play time is not affected by bad weather or poor drainage.

29 changing rooms improvements. For example:

£247k for Rastrick Juniors Football Club in Calder Valley so they can build a new pavilion and clubhouse, supporting high growth in the number of teams who can be accommodated by the club.

6 MUGAs. For example:

£183k for Manchester City in the Community to deliver a floodlit MUGA – in a highly deprived area lacking in structured activities for the local community.

13 small capital projects. One such project is:

£25k for Tiffinian Association in Elmbridge to buy pitch maintenance equipment, which will mean the community can use the pitch throughout the year, and there will be hundreds more opportunities to play on a decent and well-maintained surface.

Scotland

£2 million has been provided for 18 projects, including:

£200k for Gala Fairydean Rovers Football Club / Community Trust in the Scottish Borders to resurface the pitch. This will allow the facility to be used by a wide variety of groups including football training and matches, Walking Football for the over 60s, Para Football and children’s soccer.

£150k for Drumchapel United in Glasgow. The Club is a lynchpin of the community, providing much more than just football: food poverty programmes, visiting care facilities in the area, Christmas toy collections, the period poverty campaign, and many other initiatives.

£150k for Buckie Thistle Football Club in Moray. The local school’s 3G pitch is used by the local school as well as the football club. Resurfacing work will ensure that it continues to be used by the school and club, and to ensure it contributes to the social, economic and environmental well-being of the wider community.

Wales

More than £1.3 million has been invested in 17 projects, including:

£33k for Bangor University’s Treborth Playing Fields in Arfon, to upgrade the pavilion and changing rooms, so they are fit for all and provide equal access for female participants. This will grow female participation and allow multiple events whether football, rugby or athletics.

£185k for Llanrumney Community Sports Hub in Cardiff to construct a community multi sports pavilion, with new gender-specific changing rooms. This will help create a more welcoming place to exercise for women in particular, and support the growth of female sports.

£98k for Pontarddulais Town FC in Swansea, to renovate and return to use an old changing room block to include female facilities and allow other community groups to benefit from the extra new space.

Northern Ireland

£700k spent on 26 projects, including:

£30k for Saintford United Football Club in Strangford for a multi-phase development plan to provide a better experience for players and supporters alike and encourage more people to get physically active.

£26k for Belfast Celtic CIC in Ulster for carpark improvements to help disabled people access the pitch. There is a wider project ongoing to upgrade the pitch to 3G and support the women’s game with new dugouts.

£20k for Enniskillen Rangers in County Fermanagh to upgrade the floodlights at their training pitch, so they can open the facility all year round. This project was started as a result of consultation with the local community.

The Conservatives are providing level playing fields across the UK, backing local communities to level up through sport, and giving the sports stars of the future the facilities they need to flourish.